written November 10th, 2009 · 0 comments
I am finally posting my photographs from Preview Berlin, a very large art exhibition that was at the Tempelhof Airport over a month ago. There were many exciting pieces that even got my boyfriend excited:) Enjoy!
Posted in Art, Life in Berlin, My Photography
written November 9th, 2009 · 2 comments
I went to Potsdamer Platz (in Berlin) on Saturday with my boyfriend to see the dominoes that had been sent around Germany and the world to be painted by school children and others. We got there just as the sun was setting but I still managed to snap a lot of pictures thanks to the lights installed everywhere. It was packed with people and bustling with food stands everywhere and even Glühwein! I know, already! We had to drink one since we were slowly getting cold because we forgot hats and gloves. It had been so nice earlier in the day!
I just finished watching the whole fall of the wall ceremony on TV and got to see the dominoes knocked down by Lech Walesa, which fell among the crowds gathered in the center of Berlin. It was a nice ceremony with a lot of emphasis on taking note of all the walls that still exist in the world.
The dominoes were painted with many different themes. I photographed the ones that were visually compelling and had a good concept. There were so many that I liked! I didn’t get to see them all though. I got quite cold before I got to the end of the domino line and turned back. I hope you enjoy what I managed to capture.
Posted in Life in Berlin, My Photography
written November 6th, 2009 · 0 comments
Last Friday I was practicing my Pilates like a good and diligent teacher preparing for my first (German) Pilates class and my neck started giving me such pain! I guess my body just wasn’t warm enough or something or I was pushing myself to hard the week before. I have been trying to play catch up physically after 2 weeks on vacation in the US and 1 week of being sick. It’s tough! But anyhow, I am better now, and I am ready for my class tomorrow.
I have prepared a few changes to the class. I think the students are a lot fitter than I originally thought. So I’ve got to keep them interested! Teaching is so much fun! When I first stepped into the class last Tuesday I thought, oh man, this is going to be a long hour. But you get into it and it goes by so fast! I made a mixed CD for my class and I think I will feel more and more confident. Tomorrow I just need to get the heating right in the studio and I think I have it down pat!
One of the things I think I should really try and do is to make sure that the class knows they can ask me any questions afterward. When I first started taking Yoga I bombarded my teacher everyday after class with questions about the positions and what I am doing right/wrong. I get the feeling that people are mostly shy or are just not so curious, I don’t know. But I want to encourage them to get involved. It only improves your work.
I want to start tutoring some of my friends individually to work on my teaching skills and to be aware of what beginners are facing when they start Pilates. And then I think I will definitely be looking for a place to teach in English somewhere. Right now I am teaching 4 times a week, but it is temporary. When my teacher comes back, she gets all of her classes back, although there has been talk of me getting one of her classes if her schedule is too full. I think it is great to do it in both languages too. I don’t know what I was so afraid of with the whole German thing…it is no big deal to teach the class in German. But, as my boss once told me, we have different ways of speaking depending on the language we speak. It sounds odd, but so true. I think when I speak English I am more natural, relaxed and funny, but when I speak German I am a bit more serious because I am concentrating on the language.
Posted in Life in Berlin, Pilates
written October 29th, 2009 · 0 comments
Yesterday I went to the Illustrative Berlin show with my friend and saw some great stuff! Here’s an overview of the artists who participated (although all are not listed).
The first artist that caught my eye was CIOU from France, I think (her website is biography-less). The pieces she exhibited were so finely painted, I had to view the paintings so close to see some of the finest lines. She paints fantastical female characters with a bit of a punk/death/dark side to them. The canvases were initially covered with collaged newspaper that was varnished with a brownish yellow color and then the characters were painted over that. There seemed to be so many layers and the detail was fascinating. Such gems! Check out some other work of hers (images from her website):
Posted in Art, Life in Berlin
written September 21st, 2009 · 0 comments
A couple weeks ago I went shopping for the first time in 7 months. I had to buy a dress for a wedding I am going to in 2 weeks. I only have summer dresses so buying something more appropriate was definitely in order. Of course, my first stop was H&M because of my budget. And lucky me, I found something! But the best part is I found something to wear with the purple heels that I have. Purple! Yes purple is still in…lucky me again. The dress is really cute. It’s very retro, 70’s, with an umpire waist and a wide ribbon that ties in back, a V-cut neckline (I have to wear a tank top under it for sure) and wide sleeves. The neckline, sleeve ends and ribbon are satin. It is very minimal yet dressy enough for the occasion. And it matches my shoes. And it was only 20 Euros:) Now I just need some jewelry. I will design a set of necklace, earrings and bracelet I think. I already have an idea already. I’ll post pics of my ensemble after the wedding! Can’t wait:)
Posted in Fashion, Life in Berlin
written September 16th, 2009 · 0 comments
So yesterday was a very exciting day! In the morning I was actually feeling a bit overwhelmed because I am juggling a few things on my plate right now. I am trying really hard to get my jewelry sold in a few shops in Berlin. My process for this includes walking around the city visiting shops to see if my jewelry will fit in and then usually calling back afterwards because the bosses aren’t there to make any decisions. I’ve also been trying to find some more markets to sell at, so I’ve been visiting them on the weekends. And then last week I was given an exciting offer to teach a Pilates class for 5 weeks while the regular teacher is at a training in Thailand. So I have to learn the class by heart and be able to teach it in German in 6 weeks! And then of course, there is my Etsy shop and my design work for my masters application portfolio, which has been a bit neglected lately. So many things.
Then I went to the yoga studio where I am working now in exchange for free classes and I was talking to the boss and he kind of mentioned that he might want me to teach some classes next year as the studio is expanding and doing really well. I am not getting too excited about it, but it would be a great experience! So that brought my spirits up. And then we had a huge attendance at our vinyasa class that day, when we normally have about 8 in a class. So that was fun and the energy in the class was great! So I really pushed myself and it felt good.
After yoga I went to the art store to buy some supplies for a display stand for my jewelry. A store in my area picked out about 20 pairs of earrings of mine to sell! Anyhow, they were having a 20% off sale a the art store. That made my day even better. I got some fun fluorescent paints and some wood beads to make a crazy huge statement necklace. A girl has got to do some experimental projects once and a while!
I got some paper for my stand and started building it when I got home. I had made a really rough prototype out of paper already, but it was looking seriously weak. So I decided I would attach the Ikea frames I had for selling at the market to the front of my paper constructions. Anyhow, I wanted to do a kind of step by step process for the making of this stand for my blog, but unfortunately I have no step by step process. It was very experimental and I just made the design decisions as I went along, solving problems one by one. So here are some images. This is my very first promotional/presentation stand for my first retailer in Berlin!
Posted in Life in Berlin, My Jewelry
written September 2nd, 2009 · 0 comments
Today I rode my bike to Mitte and left flyers that I designed for my jewelry collection at shops in the area. I asked really nicely and told them I made my own jewelry and it was no problem mostly! I left 80 in total. At one shop the girl was really interested and asked what I am making and I showed her the images on my flyer and also the earrings I had on! She was really into them and asked if I would want to sell them at her shop. She would have to clear it with her boss, but that should be no problem, they are always looking for jewelry! This might be my big break!
It was fun walking around Hackescher Markt again. I used to work in that area and I would walk around there a a lot on my breaks seeing what was new in the shops and collecting postcards and free magazines. I came home with tons of stuff today! I left 80 flyers, but I brought back a pile of postcards for earrings, gallery guides, shopping guides, Vice Magazine, Electronic Beats Magazine, Grafik and Style and the Family Tunes. Fun fun! I love getting that boost of energy from having new magazines around. My new issue of IdN magazine just arrived too! I have lots to read and to inspire me now:)
Posted in Life in Berlin
written September 2nd, 2009 · 1 comment
This past Saturday night I was in a museum. Oh yes I was. I was even there in the evening and until 11:30 pm! It was the long night of the museums here in Berlin and my friend and I wanted to go and participate in some drawing workshops that were going on. I think my expectations were pretty high after reading all of the descriptions in the event’s schedule, so I was sadly a bit disappointed. I was really siked about the drawing with experimental materials, which turned out to be drawing with ink! I actually had so many of my own ideas for drawing workshops afterward that I probably should get involved for the next time!
Posted in Art, Life in Berlin
written September 1st, 2009 · 3 comments
I sold my earrings at the Mauerpark market again on Sunday! It was a very cool day in Berlin and I think there was a good crowd there, but unfortunately not many sales. I sold half the amount as last time (the first time I sold my things at a market in Berlin). This time I mixed my products, instead of separating each style of earrings onto separate boards, I mixed it up and also had prices above each pair. So perhaps this was a mistake? Or perhaps it was just this time, this crowd turn out that wasn’t in the buying mood. One girl, as German, bought a pair of my paper/plastic creations and she said she really wanted to buy something special and extraordinary because she already has a huge earring collection, so that was a great compliment!!! I will be researching this coming Saturday and visiting other markets that I can potentially sell at.
Oh and something pretty funny happened actually. This guy is walking by and he stops at our table and leans over and picks up my cell phone, which had been lying a foot away from me. He takes it and examines it and completely seriously asks me if it is for sale!!! And I was just so stunned, I stammered I’m selling earrings! haha. Oh man. And then he was a bit embarrassed and gave it back. He was probably scouting the whole market only for cell phones! I didn’t initially say anything because the first time I sold at the market, this happened twice to Nina and I. But on those occasions the people were obviously joking! This guy was dead serious until he realized I was selling something far from cell phones!
Posted in Life in Berlin, My Jewelry
written August 26th, 2009 · 0 comments
I had a wonderful day yesterday drawing at the Natural Science Museum (Museum für Naturkunde) in Berlin! I went with my friend Nina and even though half the museum was closed for restoration of some kind, we still found lots to draw in the Darwin exhibit and there was of course the largest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world! I attempted to draw it, although it proved difficult to fit into my sketchbook. The dinosaur is so incredibly large!
It was fun drawing strange animals and sea creatures and it reminded me of my days back at RISD drawing in the Nature Lab. There were tons of kids there and they were very interested in our drawings. The most difficult question posed by a few of them was, Why are you doing that? Haha. They were cute. We were actually inspired to go to the museum by the drawings of Daniel Egnéus (his website) that we saw at a gallery in Berlin a few weeks back. His drawings are huge, probably about 3 meters long (~10 feet)! His style was so captivating and the drawing of the dinosaur (below) caught our attention and we have a hunch that he drew this drawing at the Museum für Naturkunde!
Posted in Art, Drawings, Life in Berlin
My name is Ann, an American in Berlin!
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projects, jewelry making endeavors,
inspiring fashion, design, and my perspective on life.
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